Female MPs experience sexism, harassment: study

Most female lawmakers experience some form of psychological sexual abuse and some even physical violence during while serving their mandates in parliaments worldwide, according to a study, published on Wednesday by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

The study says that 81.8 percent of survey participants said they’ve experienced some form of psychological violence. Among them, some 44 percent said they had received threats of death, rape, beatings or abduction during their parliamentary terms.

Sexist insults are equally frequent, with 65.5 percent of respondents saying that they have been repeatedly subjected to humiliating comments.

IPU questioned 55 female MPs from 39 countries, including 15 European states. The group also used data from national parliaments, of which 19 came from European parliaments.

“This is a survey of a small percentage of women MPs, but it makes clear that the problem is much more widespread and under-reported than we realize,” said IPU’s Secretary General Martin Chungong.

The report said that the issue creates obstacles for female politicians “to carry out their work freely and securely,” but the data also suggests that it would not prevent 80 percent of them to stand for another term.